Digital Tokyo, Analog Kansai

[Mulboyne]

KippoNews: Kansai-style stance: Uniquely exquisite on politics
..[E]ven in the Japanese society, there exist situations that are different from the "political mood reported or transmitted from Tokyo." These are not just regional differences but stem from "aromas of different cultures" that exist in Japan. One of the regions that are emitting a very strong "smell" is the political, economic and cultural sphere that is generally called "Kansai."
...It is safe to say that the political mood or cultural aroma of the Tokyo sphere is somewhat monolithic. In the political perspective, it can be summed up as the "sensitivity of Nagata-cho (where the Diet is located) and Kasumi-ga-seki (the center of bureaucracy)." From a cultural perspective, it is infused with the aroma of Edo. By contrast, Kansai is home to a more multi-dimensional political perspective stemming from the diverse sensitivities of the ordinary people. The absence of a principal agency of the national government in the region is a factor, but more fundamentally, the sensitivity of the people of Kansai does not accept a single-dimensional viewpoint on politics. Rather it enjoys the situation full of ambiguities as if it were "watching a drama."...Such an attitude may be said to be that of an onlooker and irresponsible. However, it can also be said that it is cool and detached, and that it allows a lot of leeway. This is the same sensitivity as one expressed by the term "mottainai (too good to waste)." It is not the digital sensitivity in which everything has to be labeled "zero" or "one" and in which one has to choose "left" or "right" or "drop it or keep it." The residents of Kansai casually share a somewhat "analog" attitude of neither "zero" nor "one."

The Kansai-style stance on politics is exquisite, because ambiguities, such as "It's not 'yes,' but it's not 'no,'either," or "I don't like it, but I don't dislike it, either," are all cooked together in a pot, so-to-speak. It is somehow like the indecisiveness, for which the Japanese are harshly criticized by other countries as "the Japanese are a puzzle to us," but in fact it is a product of the wisdom of the ordinary people for not hurting one another. It is a "stance" we should proudly disseminate to the rest of the world.